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Monday, October 15, 2012

Pumpkin Pi Onsie

I'm excited to be part of Pumpkin Palooza today! Thanks so much for hosting such a fun series, Emily and Jaime. I've got several cans of pumpkin in the cupboard and I really need to try some of the recipes I keep seeing on here.

...But I have a different kind of Pumpkin Pi for you today. No, I didn't misspell it. That's Pumpkin Pi as in the number Pi or 3.14159... and so on. We're a bit nerdy over at Helping Little Hands. I'm a former math and chemistry teacher and I married an even nerdier high school science teacher, so we're turning our kids into super nerds and they don't even know it.

This is my youngest, Anson, sporting his new Pumpkin Pi Onesie.

He's outgrown his other Pi themed onesies, and this was a perfect one for Halloween and Thanksgiving...because what's more Thanksgiving than Pumpkin Pi?!?

It's getting a bit hard to take pictures of this guy because he wants the camera SO BAD!

So bad in fact, that he crawled for the first time trying to get to the camera.

(And if you like those pants, I'll be posting the pattern and tutorial on my blog sometime in the next week or two.)

Lucky for me he hasn't realized this crawling thing can actually take him places more than a few inches away...I know...give him a few days.

Trace the pumpkin shape onto some Heat'n Bond Lite or similar product. Cut it out, and iron it onto the backside of your fabric. My fabric of chose for shirt appliques is T-shirt scraps because you don't have to worry about the edges fraying and it makes stitching it onto your shirt easier. Then you'll cut out the fabric to match the edges of the Heat'n Bond. You'll also want to trace the green stem and iron that onto a green scrap.

Then trace the Pi symbol onto the papery side of some freezer paper. (You find freezer paper at the grocery store near ziploc baggies and the like. One roll of it will last you for hundreds of cool, personalized T-shirts.) Iron your stencil onto your pumpkin shape, making sure the Pi symbol is centered. Trim off most of the excess freezer paper.

Dab your paint into the gaps in your stencil. Be sure to tap up and down, not side to side so that the paint doesn't leak under your paper. I usually use regular acryilic craft paint because that's what I have on hand and it my experience it works well and ends up with a slightly textured distressed look. Using fabric paint will also work well.

Peel of the freezer paper and let dry COMPLETELY.

Once your design is dry, iron the pumpkin shape onto your T-shirt. (By the way, I check out the racks at Goodwill for plain, good quality shirts every time I go. It's usually cheaper and better quality than shirts from a craft store, as long as you're selective.) Tuck the stem piece under the pumpkin slightly before ironing. Iron thoroughly to get it to stick.

Stitch around the edge of your applique to secure the edges permanently. (You can buy Heat'n Bond that does not require stitching, but I don't recommend it.) I don't do anything to secure the ends of the thread because I don't want extra thread to show.

I've also got some other great nerdy posts coming up later this week on my blog as well as a giveaway, so be sure to come over and follow along, so you don't miss them.

And as one last shameless little plug, I'm selling a couple of mini-quilts for funds to purchase quilting supplies to make quilts for donation to Seattle Children's Hospital. I'd love for you to check them out here.